An ardent observer, analyst and critic of politics and current happenings. Truly believes in human equality, poor and peasants have first right on resources, and rule of law essential in a democracy.
Here are my reflections and collections.

Saturday, 12 August 2017

Social media greatly impacts society

Social media websites are some of the most popular haunts on the Internet. They have revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize on the web. Social media has tremendous impact on culture, business, politics, socialization with some negative effects such as cyber bullying and privacy.

Social websites have played an important role in many elections in many countries.

Companies are using social media to advertise their products, to enhance brand image and popularity which costs nothing.

Social networks offer the opportunity for people to re-connect with their old friends and acquaintances, make new friends, trade ideas, share content and pictures etc.

Users can stay abreast of the latest global and local developments, and participate in campaigns and activities of their choice.

Professionals use social media to enhance their career and business prospects.

Students can collaborate with their peers to improve their academic proficiency and communication skills.

Social networks is the choice for the bloggers, article writers and content creators.

Social networking sites is to unite people for the achievement of some specific objective to bring the positive change in society.

There are a some downsides too to social networking.

Many introverts and socially reclusive users place too much emphasis on virtual interaction, and ignore the real world outside.

If you are not careful, unscrupulous people can target you for cyber bullying and harassment on social sites. School children, young girls, and women can fall prey to online attacks which can create tension and distress.

Social media or network could lead to addiction. Spending countless hours on the social sites can divert the focus and attention from a particular task. It lowers the motivational level of the people, especially of the teenagers and students.

Many companies have blocked social networks on their office internet as addicted employees can distract themselves on such sites, instead of focusing on work.

Kids can be greatly affected by these social networking sites. Sometimes people share photos on social media that contains violence and sex, which can damage the behavior of kids and teenagers.

What you post on the Net can come back to haunt you.

Revealing personal information on social sites can make users vulnerable to crimes like identity theft, stalking, etc.

Many companies perform a background check on the internet before hiring an employee. If a prospective employee has posted something embarrassing on social media, it can drastically affect their chances of getting the job.

Our loved ones and friends may get to know if we post something undesirable on social networks.

Even with the tight security settings your personal information may leak on the social sites. Downloading your videos or pictures and copying your status is an easy task.

Social media has its above mentioned advantages and drawbacks.

Anther disadvantage of social media is the low control of the integrity of posted information.

It is up to each user to use social sites wisely to enhance their professional and social life, and exercise caution to ensure they do not fall victim to online dangers.

Not disputing anything, it leans heavily in favor of the positives. Social media is greatly implicated in increased depression, feelings of isolation and loneliness, spreading of false information, creation of "echo chambers", break down of inter-personal communication skills, break down of intimate relationships and cause of broken friendships/ relationships. Social mediais a prime catalyst of social decay with unquantifiable negative impact.